Music
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They've earned it and it suits them well: the time to do things their way. Lisbon, the Walkmen's sixth studio album (coming a relaxed two years after its predecessor), is richly toned and unhurried...read more
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While exhilarating, Marnie Stern's first two albums felt at times like they were constantly reminding us of her guitar prowess -- which, it has to be said, is straight-up flabbergasting. Her third ...read more
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For album number four, Antony Hegarty immediately dispels the weight of any expectations set by his previous, much-lauded work, and simply sings beauty: Swanlights is characterized by an apparent o...read more
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What a fresh disc this is—a jazz-trio session that's airy, accessible and challenging all at once, the kind of record you don't need to be a jazz fan to dig. The namesake Alon Nechushtan is out fro...read more
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Love this sound. Religious Knives are one of our favorite NYC psych outfits but their activity level suits a pair of parents and assorted other players: It happens when it does. On their debut for ...read more
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You may think that four years is a long gap between albums, but take a look at the Beasties' discography: They've always taken their time with new releases. (And this time they had to give MCA a ch...read more
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To tell the truth, I've never been much of a Gang Gang fan—I've always liked the idea of them, but found the lack of cohesion in their tracks to be a problem, rather than a source of their charm. T...read more
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People like us (you and me, I mean) tend to turn up our noses when a band like Cults rockets from just-posting-a-few-mp3s to major-label-contract in a matter of months. It's such a cliche of the mo...read more
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I am a massive fan of the rock that is psychedelic, and honestly, I have never heard a White Hills record that blew me away—which is what all psych-rock fans want, to be blown to pieces by the stuf...read more
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Stormy weather approacheth. Though Laddio Bolocko will be a new name for most, this is in fact a reissue of the very first release on the No Quarter label (now the home of Endless Boogie, Doug Pais...read more
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Modern-day renaissance man Jeffrey Lewis brings so many things to the table that any new record from him more or less automatically becomes the most full-spectrum entertainment experience in town. ...read more
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Everything about this record is so right-on that I'm getting a contact high just telling you about it. And I haven't even told you about it yet! Psychic Ills are a long-running NYC band dedicated t...read more
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Owners of the best first song on any rock record released this year -- you can take that to the bank -- NYC quartet the Men made a significant splash in 2011 with their first widely distributed alb...read more
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The Ramones provided the blueprint and Leave Home duplicated it with lesser results, but the Ramones' third album, Rocket to Russia, perfected it. Rocket to Russia boasts a cleaner production than ...read more
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The loud-and-fast, campy-and-catchy formula began to wear a little thin by the time of the Ramones' fourth album, Road to Ruin. Following the exact same blueprint as its three predecessors, Road to...read more
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Road to Ruin found the Ramones
stretching their signature sound to its limits; even though there were
several fine moments, nearly all of them arrived when the group broke
free from the suddenly...read more
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Of course the Ramones' second album, Leave Home,
is simply more of the same -- 14 songs, including one oldie
("California Sun"), delivered at breakneck speed and concluding in under
a half...read more
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The world of pop music was hardly ready for The Velvet Underground's
first album when it appeared in the spring of 1967, but while The
Velvet Underground and Nico sounded like an open challenge...read more
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Sadly, outside of a handful of audience tapes of extremely variable fidelity, no one thought to make a live recording of The Velvet Underground during their 1967-68 peak period with John Cale prodd...read more
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I had previously categorized (I don’t want to say “written
off”) the Men as a Jesus Lizard-esque punk-rock band, but with their new album, Open Your Heart, the NYC band busts the
floodgates wide op...read more
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This might sound weird, but because of the band he's in, and because everything regarding that band now is Big News (whether a new album, a concert featuring a classic album played in its entirety,...read more
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